OpenGov Proposal: Upgrade ISMP Consensus Client to SP1 V5

Summary

This proposal seeks approval to upgrade the ISMP consensus client on all EVM ISMP hosts to SP1 V5, enhancing the security, performance, and reliability of cross-chain message verification across the Hyperbridge network.

Background

Hyperbridge currently utilizes the SP1 BEEFY consensus client on EVM chains to verify consensus proofs from the relay chain. The SP1 consensus client delegates secp256k1 signature verification, authority set membership proof checks, and MMR leaf verification to an SP1 zero-knowledge program, enabling efficient and trustless verification of cross-chain state.

Proposal

Update the consensus client implementation on all EVM ISMP hosts to use SP1 V5, which includes:

• SP1 Verifier Contract: Deploy the new SP1VerifierGroth16 from SP1 V5.0.0
• SP1Beefy Consensus Client: Deploy updated client instance with new verifier
• Host Parameter Update: Update HostParams.consensusClient on each EVM host

Affected Chains

The ISMP Consensus Client on all EVM ISMP hosts will be upgraded after this proposal is executed. The following list is the new consensus client contract address for each chain:

• Ethereum: etherscan.io/address/0xa2703b8dd14f50d17f2517327797bce292d00e1e
• Arbitrum: arbiscan.io/address/0xa2703b8dd14f50d17f2517327797bce292d00e1e
• Optimism: optimistic.etherscan.io/address/0xa2703b8dd14f50d17f2517327797bce292d00e1e
• Base: basescan.org/address/0xa2703b8dd14f50d17f2517327797bce292d00e1e
• Polygon: polygonscan.com/address/0xa2703b8dd14f50d17f2517327797bce292d00e1e
• BSC: bscscan.com/address/0xa2703b8dd14f50d17f2517327797bce292d00e1e
• Gnosis: gnosisscan.io/address/0xa2703b8dd14f50d17f2517327797bce292d00e1e
• Soneium: soneium.blockscout.com/address/0xa2703b8dd14f50d17f2517327797bce292d00e1e
• Unichain: unichain.blockscout.com/address/0xa2703b8dd14f50d17f2517327797bce292d00e1e

Benefits

1. Enhanced Security: SP1 V5 includes security improvements and bug fixes from previous versions
2. Improved Performance: Optimized proof generation and verification reducing gas costs
3. Better Reliability: More robust proof system with enhanced error handling
4. Ecosystem Alignment: Maintains compatibility with latest SP1 infrastructure

Proposed by: Hyperbridge Core Team
Type: Protocol Upgrade